Remarks by the Vice President at Coating Excellence International
975 Broadway
Wrightstown, Wisconsin

3:55 P.M. CDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mike. And I appreciate that warm welcome to Wrightstown.
I'm grateful for the chance to speak to the men and women of CEI.

Let me, at the outset again, I know Mike introduced two of our
veterans here -- who are here today. And let me say on behalf of all
Americans, we really appreciate -- want to thank you for what you've
done for all of us. (Applause.)

I want to thank Congressman Mark Green and Congressman Tom Petri
and your state assembly speaker, John Gard, for flying in with me today
on Air Force Two. And it's my honor to bring greetings to all of you
from our President, George W. Bush. (Applause.)

And it's good to be back in Brown County. I've been in this part
of the state many times over the years, going back to the 1960s. And
what a lot of people in Wisconsin don't know, probably because they
aren't as old as I am -- (laughter) -- that I used to work for Warren
Knowles. One of my very first jobs in politics was working for your
Governor Warren Knowles. We had the chance to visit Green Bay and
Appleton and many other communities all over the state in 1966, when I
campaigned with him across the state. My oldest daughter was born down
in Madison, and she now has three children of her own -- soon to be
four. And it's great to come back to get to spend some time in
Wisconsin. It's a great state, and it's always fun to come back.

Ever since we lived in Wisconsin, the upper Midwest has been one of
our favorite parts of the country. It's a lot like my home state of
Wyoming -- terrific people, plenty of wide open spaces, and great
hunting and fishing, and an occasional cold winter. (Laughter.)

But this is also a great state because of the confident and
enterprising people -- where people take their responsibilities
seriously, put their hearts to work, and give everything they can to
building better communities and better lives for their children. And I
see that optimistic spirit right here at CEI. You've shown a
remarkable potential for growth in America's economy -- seven years
ago, starting manufacturing paper products with 15 employees Today,
your payroll is over 200, and with Mike's good news today, I want to
congratulate CEI on the upcoming addition of 70 new jobs over the
course of the coming year. (Applause.)

When you take a place like CEI, it doesn't take long to figure out
how you've become such a success. The company is filled with dedicated
workers, committed to making some of the finest paper products in the
world. You also have strong, focused management -- the kind of leaders
who care about long-term results and are willing to take intelligent
risks to create new business. With hard work, a lower federal tax
burden, and powerful incentives to invest -- (applause) -- you've
turned a start-up business into a growing and great Wisconsin company.
And I'm proud to congratulate you on your winning strategy and a
winning team.

As Mike mentioned, our economy has been through some tough times
these past three years. We've faced recession. And we had the
terrorist attack on 9/11, and the uncertainty of war. Yet, through all
of these challenges, the economy has been amazingly strong and
resilient. It's grown because of the steady effort of our citizens,
and because of -- I believe -- the sound policies and leadership of our
President. (Applause.)

The President and I know the best way to expand the economy and to
create jobs is to leave more money in the hands of the people who
earned it. (Applause.) So we've delivered three rounds of tax cuts,
and fulfilled a major economic goal -- to reduce the federal tax burden
on every single American who pays income taxes.

Since President Bush took office, more than 2.1 million taxpayers
in Wisconsin have seen their income tax bills reduced. More than
710,000 married couples in Wisconsin are benefiting from marriage
penalty relief. And over 520,000 families in Wisconsin have benefited
from the increase in the child tax credit. (Applause.) We like the
kids down front. (Laughter.)

Over 440,000 small business owners in your state have seen their
federal tax burden go down, which will make it possible for them to
invest in new equipment, expand facilities and hire additional
workers. The average savings in the President's across-the-board tax
cuts tops $1,500. Some critics say that isn't much. But it sure feels
like a lot when you have to send it to Washington -- and Washington did
the right thing by letting you keep it. (Applause.)

We're beginning to see results now throughout the country in terms
of our economy. In the first quarter of this year, the data just out
shows that our growth rate was 4.2 percent. Over the last three
quarters, rate of growth in the economy has been 5.5 percent -- the
fastest pace since Ronald Reagan's first term in the White House. Last
month we added over 300,000 new jobs, and since August, over 750,000
new jobs nationwide. The home ownership rate is the highest ever.
Interest rates and inflation are low. Manufacturing activity is
increasing. Productivity is high. Business investment is rising.
America's economy is moving in the right direction. (Applause.)

For all of this progress, there's more work to be done. The goal
of our administration is a strong, vigorous, growing economy in every
part of Wisconsin, and all across the country. We want to see more
opportunities for citizens, more new jobs, and more small businesses in
our communities. And so we're going to keep moving forward with a
clear, comprehensive, pro-growth policy.

We start with a clear understanding of the role of government. We
know that America's $10-trillion economy is sustained by the free
enterprise system, and by the hard work of the nation's entrepreneurs
and workers. Government spends a lot of money, but it does not build
factories, or meet company payrolls, or do the work that makes the
economy grow. The federal government's job is not to manage or control
the economy, but to remove obstacles standing in the way of faster
growth. The key to more jobs is not more government, but free
enterprise, and low taxes, and spending discipline in Washington,
D.C. (Applause.)

We need fewer mandates, and fewer unnecessary regulations from
Washington. Companies like CEI should be able to spend their time
building the business and adding jobs, not filling out a lot of useless
government paperwork. (Applause.)

And we should help business owners control the rising costs of
health care. Here in Wisconsin and across the country, we need to make
sure frivolous lawsuits don't run good doctors out of business and
drive up the cost of care. No one has ever been healed by a frivolous
lawsuit -- so Congress needs to pass medical liability reform soon.

A healthy, growing economy also depends on affordable, reliable
supplies of energy. We need to pass sound energy legislation that
promotes efficient technology, conservation, and new production. It is
time to make the United States of America less dependent on energy
supplies from foreign countries. (Applause.)

We also need to knock down trade barriers, and open up new markets
around the world for American farmers and ranchers and entrepreneurs
and manufacturers. In 2003 alone, exports from Wisconsin topped $11
billion. As the President pointed out last month in Appleton,
Wisconsin's exports to Canada have risen. Exports to Mexico have
risen. Exports to China rose four fold in the last four years.
Wisconsin is even exporting cheese to France. Not bad. (Laughter and
applause.) And Wisconsin is selling what the world wants to buy.

In order to generate more jobs and maintain economic growth, we
also need to create certainty in the tax code. Families and
entrepreneurs need to be able to plan for the future. But under
current law, many of the tax cuts we've enacted are set to expire a few
years down the road. We need to remove that uncertainty. For the sake
of jobs, and for the sake of American families, Congress needs to make
the Bush tax cuts permanent. (Applause.)

American workers and businesses welcomed President Bush's tax
relief. They've helped drive our economy forward, and they're playing
a crucial part in keeping America the most prosperous country in the
world.

It's an honor to stand with the workers of this outstanding
company. And once again, congratulations on your accomplishments, and
good luck to all of you in the years to come.